Strange Music is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

specializing in

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

and founded by

Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...

and Travis O'Guin in 1999.

History

In 2009 Skatterman & Snug Brim fulfilled their commitment to Strange Music and left the label. In 2010

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Rock signed with local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major lab ...

signed a multi-album deal with Strange Music. In 2011

Stevie Stone Stephen Lewis Williams (born July 28, 1981), better known by his stage name Stevie Stone, is an American rapper from Columbia, Missouri. He was signed to Tech N9ne's Strange Music record label from 2011 to 2021 and has since founded his own reco ...

joined the label in March and Prozak in December. In 2012 Strange Music signed the duo

CES Cru Ces Cru (often stylized as CES Cru) was an American hip-hop group from Kansas City, Missouri, signed to independent record label Strange Music. The duo composed of members Donnie "Godemis" King and Mike "Ubiquitous" Viglione, but has had numerou ...

, made up of rappers Ubiquitous and Godemis, in January and Slumerican rapper Rittz in August. In 2014 Murs signed to Strange Music in February and Kutt Calhoun and

left Strange Music in September. In 2016 Chicago-based pop group AboveWaves signed to the label. In 2018 Strange Music announced a new pop music subsidiary Strange Main in February, and Murs left in March after completing his contract.Archived a
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Wayback Machine
In 2019 Krizz Kaliko announced his intentions of leaving the label on October 6, then signed a new contract on stage on October 20. However, Kaliko officially announced his departure from Strange in order to form his own label Ear House Inc. on May 15, 2021.

Subsidiaries

Strange Music West was announced in 2009 with Dave Weiner, formerly of

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, ...

and JCOR Entertainment, as Vice President. Weiner immediately signed Brotha Lynch Hung to the label. Strange Lane Records was started in 2010 and signed

Young Bleed Glenn Clifton Jr., also known as Young Bleed is an American rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Biography Young Bleed started rhyming at the age of 9 at home in his native South Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was influenced by his mother, who read p ...

as its first artist. Strange Main, a pop music division, was announced in 2018 with former radio personality Ponch Hudgens as Executive Director and C.E.O. Travis O'Guin's daughter Mackenzie as its flagship artist. It Goes Up Entertainment is a subsidiary of Strange Music that acts as a distribution company to other artists and their labels or independent projects. It was founded and launched in 2021. It currently distributes artists

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, Jelly Roll,

Dax The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...

¡Mayday! ¡Mayday! (stylized in all caps as ¡MAYD∀Y!) is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida. The group comprises rappers Bernardo "Bernz" Garcia and Ben "Wrekonize" Miller, along with producer and percussionist Andrews "NonMS" Mujica. Unt ...

Roster

Current artists

Former artists

Discography

References

External links

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Music Blogs
{{Authority control 2000 establishments in the United States Hip-hop record labels American independent record labels Hardcore hip-hop record labels